Toronto Maple Leafs’ Mitchell Marner, left, celebrates with Auston Matthews after scoring an empty-net goal at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Wed Nov 30, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Matthew Harrington

A late goal sunk the San Jose Sharks in Toronto Wednesday night with the Sharks falling to the Maple Leafs 3-1 in the second game of a back-to-back.

Matt Nieto scored in a second consecutive contest and Aaron Dell made 29 saves in his first start of the year but Pierre Engvall goal with 2:27 left in regulation eliminated an opportunity for San Jose (8-14-4) to pick up a three-point (or more) trip through Canada’s Original Six squads. Ilya Samsonov made 23 saves in the win.

The Maple Leafs (15-5-5) had won four-straight entering play and took a 1-0 4:19 into the second period after sustained pressure in the offensive zone. On the goal Auston Matthews redirected a shot pass from Mac Hollowell for his 12th goal of the year.

Nieto scored his 6th of the year, matching his total from last year in 70 games, taking a feed from Logan Couture from behind the net for the point blank shot to tie the game 7:26 into the second frame.

The heartbreaker came with 2:27 left in regulation when the Sharks were attempting to rush up the ice. An errant Tomas Hertl pass in the neutral zone was picked off by David Kampf who rushed back into the offensive zone. He fed the puck to Alex Kerfoot, but Dell made the save. The rebound bounced to Engvall who potted it for his third of the season. Mitch Marner added an empty-netter to extend his point streak to 18 games.

The Sharks get a little rest before their next stop in Ottawa. They face the Senators Saturday night. The Sharks will be waiting in Kanata for the Sens who play against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden Friday night.